Leo Sayer

Leo is famous for his songwriting and stage presence. A professional entertainer who has made Australia his new home.

Worldwide hits include:

Thunder in my heart

You make me feel like dancing

The show must go on

When I need you

One man Band

Raining in my heart

Giving it all away

BioLeo was born Gerard Hugh Sayer on May 21st. 1948, Thomas Sayer and Teresa Nolan at Shoreham-by-Sea, Sussex, in England. He was the second child of three.

At secondary school he showed a gift for drawing and painting. He sang with the school band, Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley songs he'd learnt from his older cousin, David's record collection.

David introduced Leo to Buddy, The Crickets and Bob Dylan, records that had a great effect on him. He was now sixteen and it was the year of 1964.

He started listening to Rhythm and Blues, and singing with soul bands. Leo and some friends formed an Arts and Music club called The Worthing Workshop and Leo sang and played with the local house-band Terraplane Blues.

He moved up to London in late 1967, right at the moment that the youth revolution was changing the world. Here he met painters and musicians, started writing poetry and working on a book. At work he designed record covers, and illustrated top 60's magazines.

The Rock newspaper Melody Maker had a Battle Of The Bands contest that Leo and his mates entered, narrowly missing winning the local heat.

A Those tapes are still around today and show how songs like One Man Band and Giving It All Away were originally conceived. After an abortive attempt to get a deal with Beatles producer, George Martin's new Air Records label, they took the songs that they had demoed to David's ex - employer, Adam Faith.

David Courtney's Living In America was on the A side, and Leo and David's The Hour Is Love on the B-side. The session was exciting as rock band The Who were recording next door and wanting to meet Adam, added their input to the session.

Things were happening fast. Gerry Sayer became Leo Sayer, his head of curls inspiring David to christen him Leo, after the lion.

Roger Daltrey had so much liked the songs Leo and David had written that he asked them to write some for his first solo album. The boys had by now created a large backlog of material and gave Roger songs that they had intended for the next Leo Sayer album.

Adam and David set about the production and the album "Daltrey" was released on Track Records in 1972, ahead of Leoís album, to excellent response. The first single Giving It All Away became a hit in Britain and the U.S.A. and soon everybody wanted to know about the writers.

The head of Warner Brothers records in America, Joe Smith, came to Brighton that month to witness Leo in performance and signed Leo up for a ten-album deal in the The States, Canada and South America. Chrysalis Records in the U.K. signed Leo for the rest of the world.

" The Show Must Go On" released as the second single, went to number 2 in the U.K. charts and the Silverbird album also reached number 2 in the album chart. The B.B.C. put Leo In Concert on T.V. and as the year of 1973 drew to a close both the Melody Maker and The Sun newspaper (on the cover of itís new year issue) predicted Leo as "The Star Of '74"

In the U.S.A. Three Dog Night covered The Show Must Go On and took their version right to the top of the singles chart there. They had seen Leo on British television dressed as Pierrot and dressed up as circus clowns on U.S. T.V., in their interpretation of Leo.

They had ironically changed Leoís lyric to: "We must let the show go on..." This proved Leoís songs could travel, as Leo was now starting to get lots of attention around the world, and Leo prepared to tour the U.S. for the first time.

This first U.S. tour had a big impact on the audiences and on Leo, and the biggest names in the music industry turning out to see the boy with the white face and white suit. Amongst residencies at other major cities, Leo played week long performances at The Troubadour in Los Angeles and The Bottom Line in New York (with supporting act, Hall and Oates).

The U.S. tour was deemed a great success back at home with Leo featured on the front cover of every British music magazine.

Leo had always vowed that he would drop the Pierrot costume and make- up as soon as he became successful. In late 1974 British promoter Paul Dainty took Leo down to Australia for the first time, The reaction was amazing. Two hit albums had really stirred up the crowds there and fans mobbed Leo when he arrived at Sydney Airport. The shows were all sell-outs and Leomania broke Australian box office records.

Leo was becoming an accomplished stage performer by now and the second U.S. tour, which followed, underlined this. Leoís band now included Chris Stainton, pianist with the Greaseband, who had famously backed Joe Cocker at Woodstock.